Women During the Civil War: an Encyclopedia

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Women During the Civil War: an Encyclopedia Civil War Book Review Summer 2004 Article 37 Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia Jory V. Reedy Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr Recommended Citation Reedy, Jory V. (2004) "Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia," Civil War Book Review: Vol. 6 : Iss. 3 . Available at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol6/iss3/37 Reedy: Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia Review Reedy, Jory V. Summer 2004 Harper, Judith E. Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia. Routledge, $95.00 ISBN 041593723X Singular source Wealth of diverse women's experiences explored Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia is a reference that includes information on women and their roles during the turbulent period of the Civil War. Judith E. Harper, an independent scholar and professional writer, gives the reader more than just a snapshot of each entry. She shows that women functioned in the mainstream and not just on the periphery of society. This book is packed from cover to cover with an enormous amount of information, neatly organized alphabetically. Included are over 120 entries and numerous photographs and illustrations. The best way to enjoy this study is to take advantage of the many cited sources at the end of each entry. The diaries and journals that were consulted for this work add a personal flavor to each entry. Secondary sources tie it all together in a very readable reference that is a must for any student of history. In addition, Harper has provided an extensive bibliography, index, and a glossary. Women During the Civil War includes women from all regions with a variety of nationalities, education and beliefs. Many students are familiar with Susan B. Anthony, Louisa May Alcott, Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman and Mary Ellen Pleasant. Lesser-known women described in the book are Belle Edmondson, Mary Edwards Walker ,Eugenia Levy Phillips, Vinnie Ream (the first woman artist to be awarded a Congressional commission), and Edmonia Lewis (the first African-American sculptor to achieve success internationally). Entries are devoted to anti-slavery writer Lydia Maria Child, political writer Anna Ella Carroll, African-American poet and writer Frances Harper Watkins, and songstress Julia Ward Howe, lyricist of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Published by LSU Digital Commons, 2004 1 Civil War Book Review, Vol. 6, Iss. 3 [2004], Art. 37 Harper's work emphasizes the fact that women were artists, writers, doctors, nurses, mothers, wives, astronomers, spies, smugglers, teachers and soldiers. They ran businesses, hospitals, farms and plantations. Some women used their talents to organize and manage relief agencies such as the United States Christian Commission, United States Sanitary Commission, Soldiers' Aid Societies, Women's Central Association of Relief, Contraband Relief Association, and sanitary fairs. And they suffered through war. The individuals in this book represent a small portion of the female population during the Civil War. Though their experience was varied, all shared the fear and sorrow that comes with living through war. Women During the Civil War brings their hopes, fears and dreams alive, making an excellent addition to any Civil War library. Jory V. Reedy has a BA in History from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and is the Editor of The Trans-Mississippian newsletter for the Civil War Roundtable of Eastern Kansas https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol6/iss3/37 2.
Recommended publications
  • Hermaphrodite Edited by Renée Bergland and Gary Williams
    Philosophies of Sex Etching of Julia Ward Howe. By permission of The Boston Athenaeum hilosophies of Sex PCritical Essays on The Hermaphrodite EDITED BY RENÉE BERGLAND and GARY WILLIAMS THE OHIO State UNIVERSITY PRESS • COLUMBUS Copyright © 2012 by The Ohio State University. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Philosophies of sex : critical essays on The hermaphrodite / Edited by Renée Bergland and Gary Williams. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8142-1189-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8142-1189-5 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8142-9290-7 (cd-rom) 1. Howe, Julia Ward, 1819–1910. Hermaphrodite. I. Bergland, Renée L., 1963– II. Williams, Gary, 1947 May 6– PS2018.P47 2012 818'.409—dc23 2011053530 Cover design by Laurence J. Nozik Type set in Adobe Minion Pro and Scala Printed by Thomson-Shore, Inc. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American Na- tional Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48–1992. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction GARY Williams and RENÉE Bergland 1 Foreword Meeting the Hermaphrodite MARY H. Grant 15 Chapter One Indeterminate Sex and Text: The Manuscript Status of The Hermaphrodite KAREN SÁnchez-Eppler 23 Chapter Two From Self-Erasure to Self-Possession: The Development of Julia Ward Howe’s Feminist Consciousness Marianne Noble 47 Chapter Three “Rather Both Than Neither”: The Polarity of Gender in Howe’s Hermaphrodite Laura Saltz 72 Chapter Four “Never the Half of Another”: Figuring and Foreclosing Marriage in The Hermaphrodite BetsY Klimasmith 93 vi • Contents Chapter Five Howe’s Hermaphrodite and Alcott’s “Mephistopheles”: Unpublished Cross-Gender Thinking JOYCE W.
    [Show full text]
  • March Is Women's History Month
    518-455-3053 • [email protected] • 518-455-3053 12248 NY Albany, • LOB 839 Room Women’s History Month Art Contest In the space provided, draw a picture of a New York woman you admire. [email protected] • 718-236-1764 11219 NY Brooklyn, • Parkway Hamilton Fort 6605 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Kennedy Jacqueline Camille, Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate, Jr. Abbate, J. Peter Assemblyman winning piece will be cover art for next year’s brochure and will be seen by hundreds of students throughout our community! our throughout students of hundreds by seen be will and brochure year’s next for art cover be will piece winning The Tear off this sheet and send your art to Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate, Jr. at 6605 Fort Hamilton Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11219. 11219. NY Brooklyn, Parkway, Hamilton Fort 6605 at Jr. Abbate, J. Peter Assemblyman to art your send and sheet this off Tear NAME: AGE: NAME OF WOMAN PICTURED: Month History March is Women’s Women’s is March 1. Suffrage 2. Clinton 4. Senator 5. Yale 5. Senator 4. Clinton 2. Suffrage 1. DOWN: ANSWERS CROSSWORD 1. Seneca Falls 3. Chisholm 4. Sotomayor 6. Walker 7. Tubman 8. Roosevelt 8. Tubman 7. Walker 6. Sotomayor 4. Chisholm 3. Falls Seneca 1. ACROSS: ANSWERS CROSSWORD Honor 8. Empowerment 7. Equality 6. Liberty 5. Ratify 4. Education 3. Falls Seneca 2. Suffrage 1. JUMBLE SOLUTIONS: SOLUTIONS: JUMBLE Updated 2/15 Why is it important to study women’s history? Jumble! Crossword The words below are all scrambled up. After (Answers on back panel) Women’s history isn’t just about women had to fight for their rights, including the first women’s rights convention was held reading about women in New York, can you or for women — it’s an important part of right to go to school, to own property, to in Seneca Falls on July 19 and 20, 1848.
    [Show full text]
  • Central New York State Women's Suffrage Timeline
    Central New York State WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE TIMELINE Photo – courtesy of http://humanitiesny.org TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN SECURING WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE A. Some New York State developments prior to the July 1848 Seneca Falls Convention B. The Seneca Falls Convention C. Events 1850 – 1875 and 1860s New York State Map D. Events 1875 – 1893 Symbols E 1-2. Women’s Suffrage and the Erie Canal. Events around F-1. 1894 Ithaca Convention Ithaca, New York F-2. 1894 Ithaca Convention (continued) Curiosities G. Events 1895 – 1900 H. Events 1900 – 1915 I. Events 1915 – 1917 – Final Steps to Full Women’s Suffrage in New York J. Events Following Women’s Suffrage in New York 1918 – 1925 K. Resources New York State Pioneer Feminists: Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan Brownell Anthony. Photo – courtesy of http://www.assembly.state.ny.us A. SOME NEW YORK STATE DEVELOPMENTS PRIOR TO THE JULY 1848 SENECA FALLS CONVENTION • 1846 – New York State constitutional convention received petitions from at least three different counties Abigail Bush did NOT calling for women’s right to vote. attend the Seneca Falls convention. Lucretia Mott 1846 – Samuel J. May, Louisa May Alcott’s uncle, and a Unitarian minister and radical abolitionist from • was the featured speaker Syracuse, New York, vigorously supported Women’s Suffrage in a sermon that was later widely at the Seneca Falls circulated. convention. • April, 1848 – Married Women’s Property Act Passed. • May, 1848 – Liberty Party convention in Rochester, New York approved a resolution calling for “universal suffrage in its broadest sense, including women as well as men.” • Summer 1848 – Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Staton, and Matilda Joslyn Gage were all inspired in their suffrage efforts by the clan mothers of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Nation of New York State.
    [Show full text]
  • The Glory Cloak: a Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton
    Civil War Book Review Fall 2004 Article 14 The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton Kate Clifford Larson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr Recommended Citation Larson, Kate Clifford (2004) "The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton," Civil War Book Review: Vol. 6 : Iss. 4 . Available at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol6/iss4/14 Larson: The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton Review Larson, Kate Clifford Fall 2004 Griffler, Keith P. Front Line of Freedom: African-Americans and the Forging of the Underground Railroad in the Ohio Valley. University Press of Kentucky, $35.00 ISBN 813122988 Ferrying across the river Forgotten conductors rediscovered For generations, white Quaker activists have remained at the center of the story of the Underground Railroad. Whether operating the routes to freedom along the eastern seaboard, or through the Ohio River Valley, Quakers have been cast as the leading characters in the clandestine operations that provided the means of escape for thousands of enslaved African-Americans before the Civil War. The reality, however, is far more complicated and, in fact, the daily workings of the Underground Railroad was more a product of African-American efforts, both free and enslaved, than of any other means. Keith Griffler's contribution to this history is both refreshing and compelling, highlighting the major role that African-Americans in Ohio, individually and communally, played in the ferrying of freedom seekers from Kentucky, Virginia, and other slave states to freedom in the North.
    [Show full text]
  • American Heritage Day
    American Heritage Day DEAR PARENTS, Each year the elementary school students at Valley Christian Academy prepare a speech depicting the life of a great American man or woman. The speech is written in the first person and should include the character’s birth, death, and major accomplishments. Parents should feel free to help their children write these speeches. A good way to write the speech is to find a child’s biography and follow the story line as you construct the speech. This will make for a more interesting speech rather than a mere recitation of facts from the encyclopedia. Students will be awarded extra points for including spiritual application in their speeches. Please adhere to the following time limits. K-1 Speeches must be 1-3 minutes in length with a minimum of 175 words. 2-3 Speeches must be 2-5 minutes in length with a minimum of 350 words. 4-6 Speeches must be 3-10 minutes in length with a minimum of 525 words. Students will give their speeches in class. They should be sure to have their speeches memorized well enough so they do not need any prompts. Please be aware that students who need frequent prompting will receive a low grade. Also, any student with a speech that doesn’t meet the minimum requirement will receive a “D” or “F.” Students must portray a different character each year. One of the goals of this assignment is to help our children learn about different men and women who have made America great. Help your child choose characters from whom they can learn much.
    [Show full text]
  • Sample Pages
    PUBLISHER’S NOTE Great Events from History: LGBTQ Events is a new, struggles to gain civil rights. In some cases, one event updated version of a reference work originally pub- represents and offers discussion of many. For example, lished in 2006. This new edition not only provides new the article on Illinois becoming the first state to abol- articles but also includes hundreds of updates and new ish its laws against consensual homosexual acts in 1961 bibliographical citations relevant to older articles. This also discusses the effect of this action on other states. In set, like its predecessor, chronicles important histori- particular, essays also include “see also” cross-referenc- cal events from around the world that have identified, es to related articles within the set. By following these defined, and legally established the rights of gays, les- “see also” suggestions, readers can often gain a surpris- bians, bisexuals, queers, and transsexual, transgender, ingly thorough sense of common themes and significant intersex, and asexual persons. In editorially defining the historical developments. Readers can also often gain a content of this two-volume set, we adopted the thinking more thorough sense of the many secondary sources expressed by historian Jonathan Ned Katz in the preface relevant to articles that share the same basic focus or to the revised edition (1992) of his edited collection Gay themes. American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A.: ESSAY LENGTH AND FORMAT . the major terms defining our object of study, “homo- This set, devoted to the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, sexual” and “heterosexual,” applied to a past society, transgender, transsexual, intersex, asexual, and queer may obscure the very different ways in which same-sex persons (LGBTQ) joins other titles in Salem Press’s and different-sex pleasures were organized and con- Great Events from History sets.
    [Show full text]
  • Before 1880, Through Excuses Only
    CHAPTER ONE BEFORE 1880, THROUGH EXCUSES ONLY She is in the swim, but not of it. —Journalist magazine In 1890, only 4 percent of American journalists were women, and percentages in other writing fields were even lower.Those few who made a serious com- mitment to writing found their course severely constrained—by their educa- tion, family responsibilities, social codes, and isolation from other writers. Because of these limited freedoms and connections, American women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries wrote by relying on some form of justifi- cation or rationalization, which varied with the decades, and they usually wrote professionally for only part of their adulthood. Cast in the insubstantial role of Non-Writer, a subset of the care-giving Woman, these writers were meant to address only women readers on narrowly defined women’s topics such as home- making while the genres and pronouncements of male Writers were shaping American intellectual culture. Although their choices were few, for women working within a patriarchal system without supportive networks or groups, these excuses and restrictive definitions did provide some space for writing. DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD In the colonial period, women’s labor was frequently needed, in towns and certainly on the frontier, and it provided their means of securing a living when 1 2 A GROUP OF THEIR OWN left without father or husband. Some better educated single women and wid- ows worked in journalism—writing, editing, printing, and distributing news- papers while also taking on contract printing jobs. Elizabeth Glover of Cam- bridge, whose husband, the Reverend Jose Glover, died on the boat to America, operated the first printing press in North America (Marzolf 2).
    [Show full text]
  • March Is Women's History Month
    518-455-4166 • [email protected] • 518-455-4166 12248 NY Albany, • LOB 736 Room 903 Utica Avenue • Brooklyn, NY 11203 • 718-385-3336 • [email protected] • 718-385-3336 • 11203 NY Brooklyn, • Avenue Utica 903 Shirley Chisholm Shirley 11, Age Jobe-Lyon, Alayna Assemblyman N. Nick Perry Nick N. Assemblyman piece will be cover art for next year’s brochure and will be seen by hundreds of students throughout our community! our throughout students of hundreds by seen be will and brochure year’s next for art cover be will piece winning winning Tear off this sheet and send your art to Assemblyman N. Nick Perry at 903 Utica Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203. The March11203. NY Brooklyn, Avenue, Utica is903 at Women’sPerry Nick N. Assemblyman to art your send and sheet this off Tear History Month NAME: AGE: NAME OF WOMAN PICTURED: In the space provided, draw a picture of a New York woman you admire. you woman York New a of picture a draw provided, space the In Women’s History Month Art Contest Art Month History Women’s 4. Roosevelt 6. Syracuse 6. Roosevelt 4. ACROSS: ANSWERS CROSSWORD 1. Anthony 2. Walker 3. Seneca Falls 5. Tubman 5. Falls Seneca 3. Walker 2. Anthony 1. DOWN: ANSWERS CROSSWORD Honor 8. Empowerment 7. Equality 6. Liberty 5. Ratify 4. Education 3. Falls Seneca 2. Suffrage 1. JUMBLE SOLUTIONS: SOLUTIONS: JUMBLE Updated 2/16 Why is it important to study women’s history? Jumble! Crossword Women’s history isn’t just about women right to go to school, to own property, to Women and men from across the country The words below are all scrambled up.
    [Show full text]
  • Outrageous Women of Civil War Times
    Civil War Book Review Winter 2004 Article 20 Outrageous Women of Civil War Times Virginia Mercher Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr Recommended Citation Mercher, Virginia (2004) "Outrageous Women of Civil War Times," Civil War Book Review: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1 . Available at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol6/iss1/20 Mercher: Outrageous Women of Civil War Times Review Mercher, Virginia Winter 2004 Furbee, Mary Rodd Outrageous Women of Civil War Times. John Wiley & Sons, $12.95 ISBN 471229261 Fascinating Females Book seeks to highlight historical figures I have mixed feelings about this book. On the surface the premise is a good one—it offers young girls exciting stories about women in history and shows them that women have played an important role in the shaping of the past. The author included biographies of the following women: Louisa May Alcott, Amelia Bloomer, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix, Harriet Tubman, Belle Boyd, Pauline Cushman, Loreta Janeta Valezquez, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Varina Howell Davis. Sprinkled among the more extensive biographies were sidebar articles featuring other well-known women and topics associated with women's suffrage, the underground railroad, doctors, nurses, and the press. The books for suggested reading would be helpful for children or parents by suggesting additional books about outstanding women in the nineteenth century. There are a number of books and the topics cover areas such as the underground railroad, nurses, writers, history, suffrage, and the Civil War. Despite the positive aspects of the book, there were some negatives. The scope of emphasis was on unusual and outstanding women but the author completely ignored the typical women of the time period.
    [Show full text]
  • Dr. Mary Walker: Fighting for Work, Fighting for Women
    CN 1 Dr. Mary Walker: Fighting for Work, Fighting for Women The date was February 14th, 1912 and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, now seventy-nine years old, could be seen stepping out of the White House, having just testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the matter of women’s suffrage. A tall black top-hat adorned thinning hair; she wore a medium-length black coat, accentuated by the presence of crisp, white gloves, and a tight wingtip collar around her neck. Most striking, of course, was the star emblem glinting on her chest. Dr. Walker was the image of austerity and respect, though, in fact, a radical of her time. She was a former Civil War surgeon, a momentary prisoner, and a women’s rights activist whose commitment to her work and patriotism to her country awarded her the title of America’s first and only female Medal of Honor recipient. The breakout of the Civil War in 1861 proved to be Dr. Walker’s jumping-off point. Just as the unexpected onslaught of injured soldiers necessitated the Washington, D.C. Patent Office be hastily converted into a make-shift hospital, so too did it allow for Dr. Mary Walker to serve there as a volunteer assistant physician for the Union Army without much scrutiny. In a letter home to her family, Dr. Walker describes her experience working at the hospital: “I suppose you all expected me to go to war and I thought it would be too cruel to dissapoint [sic] you...Every soul in the hospital has to abide by my orders as much as though Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • From Seneca Falls to the Polling Booth,” DAILY TIMES This Serial Is Written by Mike Peterson, and Illustrated by Christopher Baldwin
    WATERTOWN “From Seneca Falls to the Polling Booth,” DAILY TIMES This serial is written by Mike Peterson, and illustrated by Christopher Baldwin. Falls Convention, and that Sojourner Truth women’s suffrage and one of the most powerful political teams would start coming to women’s rights in American history. conventions a few years later, tells you that But it was an abolitionist who was not a Quaker, Sojourner CHAPTER THREE: people who wanted to get rid of slavery Truth, the former slave who traveled the country speaking were also interested in women’s rights. out for freedom who, in 1851, made one of the most famous To understand the history of the Women’s speeches for women’s rights. A Split Among Allies Suffrage Movement, you must understand It’s not clear exactly what Sojourner Truth said, or just what the history of the Abolition Movement. happened, in Akron, Ohio, that day. Like many ex-slaves, she You also need to know that, while they were could not read or write, so she never wrote her speeches down. both about giving Americans their rights Most historians agree that a man had said that women were and freedoms, there were times the two too delicate to have the same rights and responsibilities as men, movements did not get along well. But first, and Truth talked about the hard life of a slave, saying she could let’s talk about abolition. work as hard and endure the same hardships as any man. For nearly the first century of our history as A few days after that convention, a newspaper published a a nation, we argued over slavery.
    [Show full text]
  • The Victorian Age the Women's Rights Movement Education
    & Historic Movements Politics The Victorian Age The Women’s Rights Movement The Victorian Age corresponded approximately to the reign of Queen Victoria that spanned from 1837 to 1901. Women’s Rights Movement had roots in the abolitionist movement of the 1830s. Many of the early leaders were members of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) led During this time, Britain became the most powerful, by William Lloyd Garrison. They included such notables as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth richest empire in the world due to industrialization and Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott , Lydia Maria Child and Lucy Stone. imperialism. Consequently, it had a rich culture. It was a class-based society with a stable government. The American Anti-Slavery Society was invited to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in Population was about 3/4 working class and a growing London, England in 1840. At this convention, female delegates were segregated and number of people were able to vote. could only observe from a gallery. To protest, William Lloyd Garrison joined the women For the rest of the conference. As a result of this exclusion, Lucretia Mott and Eliza beth Cady Stanton to form a group for women’s rights. This became the genesis for the Gender & Class women’s suffrage movement and the organization of the first United States women’s rights convention. It was a hierarchical society organized by gender and class. Gender was the determining factor in potential The Seneca Falls Convention and character. It was based on the “doctrine of sepa- rate spheres”. Because men and women were made “differently”, they were meant for different things.
    [Show full text]